Gravity Falls Team-Up
by Dalek Prime
Summary: Dipper and Mabel have returned to Gravity Falls for another summer vacation, but this time they won't be the only ones visiting the strange little town. Now the Mystery Shack gang find themselves uniting with a vast array of heroes ranging from teenage spies to gargoyles to even giant robots to fight the the forces of evil. Based off the Marvel Comic series 'Marvel Team-Up'
1. A Mirror Broken: Part One

**A/N: I don't own Gravity Falls or anything else mentioned. Also, this is the start of an anthology series that will be written by myself and few friends of mine. I won't be taking requests simply on the grounds I'm bad of keeping track of multiple requests. This first story will be a Gravity Falls/Penn-Zero: Part-Time Hero crossover written by me. I hope you all enjoy the start of the series and the stories following.**

* * *

A Mirror Broken: Part One

"Hey, don't go to sleep on me now"

Mason's eyes slowly reopened when he heard Wendy's voice. He looked back to see his girlfriend face looking back down at with a warm smile across her face. He had been resting his head on the ginger's lap was as the young couple laid under a tree nearby the Mystery Shack. For it being the middle of the summer, it was rare cool day, so the two teens decided to just spend the day enjoying one another company out in the open. The two teens had been just sitting under the tree four a good hour or so simply talking about nothing of real importance and merely enjoying one another's company after being kept apart for so long.

"What I can I say? I've got a pretty good seat" Dipper replied with a small chuckle

Wendy couldn't help but chuckle as well at that. The two may have started their relationship via long distance, but their bond was strong enough to see that they could reunite this summer as actual lovers. It wasn't just Dipper and Wendy's status changing as friends to lovers changing, but several other things had changed in the strange little town since last year as well. Ever since Mason and his twin sister, Mabel, had returned to Gravity Falls, they had gone from a pair weird with a con-artist for a great-uncle to being the town heroes with a former con-artist for a great-uncle. Dipper enjoyed the celebrity status, but his girlfriend made sure that it didn't totality go to his head.

Soos still ran the Mystery Shack as he had when Stan turn over ownership to it last year. He had kept the tourist trap the same as it ever was, the only differences being the staff. While Wendy was still employed there, Soos's girlfriend Melody had been given work there as well while Soos's grandmother had taken residence in the gift shop and had moved into Stan's old bedroom and made it as her own while Soos had redone his breakroom into a bedroom for him and Melody. The Pines twins still made the Mystery Shack their summer home, but now they had to share it with permanent residents—one of whom had a tendency to sleep walk in the nude.

Dipper and Mabel weren't the only returning heroes to Gravity Falls. When they heard that their grandniece and nephew were returning to the small Oregon town, they decided to take a little break from their global mission to investigate all things paranormal and rejoin with the now teens twins in Gravity Falls. Besides, it wasn't like there wasn't an abundance of mysteries still within the small town to keep the group occupied. Since there was hardly any room for them at the Mystery Shack, the two brothers instead took up residence with Fiddleford Mcguket at his newly owned mansion where Ford and his old friend spent countless hours working on several different projects with Stand at their side.

Among the other changes for Mason and Mabel, puberty had hit the twins like a sledgehammer. For starters, they had hit a major growth spurt over the timespan between last summer and this summer. Granted, they still weren't as tall as the other teens in the town—only coming up to chest level at best—but still it was a vast improvement over their previous heights. Dipper's new height had forced him switch to out his vest and shorts for a brown jacket and blue jeans, but he still wore his classic cap after his beloved redhead gave it back to him, telling that people would recognize him more with it on. Mabel's hair had grown out to the point to where she had to put her hair in a ponytail. She still wore her sweaters, but her braces had since been removed and her skirt had been replaced by a pair of shorts.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Wendy asked as "Finding lost gold? Monster hunting? Ghost catching?"

Despite Bill being defeated, there was still plenty of mysteries and paranormal occurrences throughout Gravity Falls for the group to investigate. However, rather than just simply go out and search for themselves, they instead made a business out of it. Not only would they investigate paranormal activity on their time, but the group would take on cases given to them by the people and even the supernatural residences of the town for a price. Admittedly, Dipper and his sister felt a little guilty for taking money from their case, however, they got over it rather quickly once they saw the number of zeroes there were on the check they had given for their services. Candi once made a passing joke that the Pines had become Sam and Dean Winchester for hire, to which they agreed with wholeheartedly, only they sometimes took jobs that didn't require them being put in harm's way without first checking to make sure their client had the money for it.

"Nah, it's a free day" her lover answered "which gives us time to— "

"Hey guys!" came Mabel's voice

"…have my sister kill the mood" the paranormal investigator finished irritability before looking up to face his sister "what do you want, Mabel? We're kinda in the middle of something here"

"Like what, trying to it get on under a tree?" his twin retorted "you guys would probably be better off making out behind the dumpster like you two normally do"

"Again, I ask: what do you want?" her sibling demanded

"Lazy Susan just came into the Mystery Shack, she says that she needs our help with an important case" the hyperactive girl informed them

"I guess our free day just ended then" Wendy said with a sigh "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted"

"I'll see you guys inside" Mabel said before walking back to the gift shop

With a collective, irate sigh, the couple picked themselves up off the ground and began to walk toward the Mystery Shack hand in hand before Wendy noticed that her lover was removing an article of clothing from his person

"You're not going to wear your hat? "she noted

"Meh, I didn't feel like wearing for a case interview with Lazy Susan" he explained

"Your Mason Pines, wear the damn hat" his girlfriend ordered playfully

Needless to say, Dipper did as he was told. Just as he placed his signature cap atop his head once more, he felt a cold chill run up his spine. it wasn't from the cool summer breeze, but from a strange feeling that began to resonate deep at the pit of his stomach. It was a feeling foreboding, one he had not felt since the time Bill Cipher haunted his family. But Mason shrugged off the feeling and continued to head toward the Mystery Shack with his lover at his side, all the while wondering if that feeling of dread was a fluke or not.

* * *

Meanwhile, several states away from Gravity Falls, there was another town by the name of Middleburg. Now at first glance, Middleburg was vastly different from Gravity Falls. It was a basic suburban town that was surrounded by steel and concrete instead of wilderness and hadn't the slightest trace of paranormal within it. By all accounts, Middleburg had nothing in common with the strange little town, at least, that's what appeared on the surface that is. For in this town there was a rundown theater that no one really paid attention. But while it appeared dilapidated on the outside, on the inside however, it was different story.

Within the Odyssey Theater, there was a machine unlike any other on earth. It was called the Trans-Dimensional Projector, a machine capable allowing someone the ability to traverse the Multiverse and temporarily assume the lives of others within those worlds. This device was used as method of transpiration for three young heroes named Sashi Kobayashi, Boone Wiseman, and their leader Penn Zero. Together, the three teens protected the Multiverse from the forces of evil such as their art teacher, Rippin, who was a part-time villain, and his minion, Larry, who was also school's principal. The two teams fought over the fate of the Multiverse day in and day out with Penn's team coming out on top. At this point, Penn knew that to expect when it came to his occupation, but this day was going to throw him a major curve ball.

When Penn entered the Odyssey Theater today, he expected to something out of the ordinary, he did travel to alternate realities after all. However, as he and his friends entered the theater, they found their boss, Phyllis, was at the control center of the Trans-Dimensional Projector, frantically pressing buttons and pulling levels as she did. The trio of heroes were a bit perplexed by their normally, calm and emotionless boss acting as if she was almost in a state of panic, that was, until they saw the portal. The portal that allowed Penn and his friends to traverse the multiverse was flaring out of control, sparks flew from the portal and the screen flashed an array of colors and glimpses of other universes. Needless to say, the redhead and his friends were shocked by the sight before them.

"Phyllis, what the hell is going on?!" Penn shouted up to his boss

"Is nothing to worry about, Penn Zero" she assured them in her usually stoic Slavic voice as she continued to man the controls "Is only possible invasion from alternate reality"

It took a moment for the words to mentally register with Penn's brain before he spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I could've sworn you just said: invasion from an alternate reality!" the part-time hero declared, now panicking

"No, I said _possible_ invasion from alternate reality" Phyllis corrected dryly "There is difference"

"But you said this couldn't happen" Sashi pointed out

"Not unless someone or something has big enough power to punch hole in reality itself and use Trans-Dimensional Projector as doorway to our universe" the Slavic woman replied, "Only something with near god-like abilities can do such a thing"

"Oh great, so we're being attacked by God" Penn mentioned "I knew being an Agnostic would come back to haunt me"

"I don't know, maybe it's pixie hitchhiker" Boone theorized "Oh! Maybe he'll have presents!"

"Boone, if I wasn't afraid of whatever was about to come through that portal, I'd smack you" his ginger friend said

"Can't you stop it, Phyllis?" the part-time sidekick asked

"What do you think I am doing? having tea party up here?" her boss answered, "whatever is trying come through is fighting hard to come through!"

Penn and his friends could only look on at the chaotic portal continued to spiral out of control with a growing apprehension and even fear in their hearts. None of the young heroes knew they hadn't faced anything like this before and were unsure of themselves if they could hold back whatever or whoever was about to enter their world, but they silently agreed to stand their ground and face whatever around make its arrival into their universe together as team like they always had done. Sashi stepped closer to Penn and placed her hand on his, putting slight pressure on her grip as she did. The young hero glanced over to his sidekick and could see the growing fear in her eyes.

Sashi wasn't the type of person to be afraid of the unknown, or anything else to be honest. If anything, the unknown was more afraid of the violent teen than she was of it, but this time it was different, the young girl could feel it in her very soul like Penn and Boone could. Penn gave her hand a soft squeeze in reassurance, wordlessly telling that he wouldn't leave her side. Boone took a few steps behind his young leader, he wasn't running, but he wasn't in a hurry to be the first in line to be beaten senseless by whatever enter this universe either. As the trio awaited the coming of unknown threat, Phyllis continued to try every trick she could think of to keep mysterious invader from entering her world, but no matter she did, nothing seemed to slow the strange force from coming through the portal.

Just then, the group of heroes heard the doors fly open to reveal their enemies, Rippin, Larry and Phil entering the theater. Acting on instinct alone, Penn, Sashi and Boone spun around and readied themselves for a fight, thinking that the part-time villains were behind this mess in the first place. Penn wouldn't put it past Rippin to pull something like this, this was the same man who trapped his parents in the most dangerous world after all. Not only had he separated the part-time hero from his parents, but he had also nearly trapped Penn in an endless black void that he barely escaped from and nearly destroyed the Multiverse in the process.

"I should've guessed you'd be behind this, Rippin!" Penn declared

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, boy?" his art teacher/arch-villain replied in confusion "Phyllis called us!"

"Is true, Penn Zero, if whatever is trying to break into our world gets through, then we need all help we can get!" his boss confirmed "Even if help comes from bad guys"

Penn was about to express his contempt for sudden this alliance, the portal began to flare out of control even more than it had done so before. Phil quickly darted up the ladder and rushed to Phyllis's aide in keeping the mysterious assailant's arrival at bay for long as they could. But try as they might, the interdimensional traveler was still forcing their way through. Penn was forced to accept this uneasy alliance and stand at the ready for whatever was about to come through the portal.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light engulfed the entire interior of the theater, blinding everyone in the vicinity in doing so. Seconds later, the light faded to reveal to the united group that the stranger they were trying to keep had arrived. The unwanted newcomer was tall and had a slender body-type and was dressed from head to toe in a black hooded robe, and while the group was still unsure as to who even what was under the hood, they could see that the stranger was wearing a pair black gloves and boots to cover her hands and feet. The stranger looked around their new surroundings, clearly disregarding Penn and others in the process as they approached the traveler.

"Uh, excuse me" Penn spoke up to get the newcomer's attention "yeah, hi, I'm Penn Zero and my friends and I wanna know why decided to break into our universe? Are you lost?"

The stranger ignored Penn's questions. Instead, the traveler continued to look around the theater in curiosity.

"It worked…" came a female voice from under the hood "I made it…."

"Uh, hello?" the part-time hero addressed "are you even listening to me?"

"Let's just snap her neck and get it over with, PZ!" Sashi demanded

"I agree with your psychotic girlfriend, Zero" Rippin added on "Let's just kill this woman and be done with it!"

"Now would killing someone from another universe count as murder?" Larry asked the others "Because if she's not from here then maybe the law pertain to her. So, maybe we could get away with this one if we say she trespassed on our earth and it was in an act of self-defense. I can't tell you guys how many hit-and-run charges I've dodged by claiming it was in self-defense— "

"You, stop talking" the stranger commanded sternly, pointing to the part-time minion as she did before pointing to Penn "you, tell me, is this Gravity Falls?"

"Gravity Falls?" the ginger repeated in confusion "Is that the name of the universe you're from?"

"No silly, that's the name of a town in Oregon. I've got a time-share there" Larry corrected "They've got some great maple syrup, and I'm not even a syrup kinda guy, I'm more of a butter and jam type of guy, but I've been known to make a few excep— "

"So, this is the right universe, but the wrong town" the woman mused to herself before looking back at Larry "you will take me there at once"

"Hold it right there, lady" Sashi ordered in a sharp tone "You're not going anywhere until we get some answers"

The traveler from beyond perk her head up slightly to show her cold, almost ice-like, eyes to the united team of part-time heroes and villains. And just from the glower in her eyes, Penn and the others could tell right away that this woman did not like to be given orders.

"If you must know child, my name is Tala" the newcomer replied in an annoyed tone "and you're in my way!"

From under the hood, the stranger's cold blue eyes suddenly began to shine a bright azure color before the mysterious woman unleashed a powerful telekinetic shockwave from her mind that sent the group flying all across the theater. Thinking that her opposition had been defeated, the newcomer who called herself Tala stepped down from the platform and began to walk down the theater aisle and toward the door. However, Phyllis had no intention of letting this woman get away that easily. With the flick of a few switches, the Salvic woman activated the theater's security system.

Turrets descended downward from the ceiling and locked on to Tala. One of the walls opened up to allow a trio of security robots to roll out while Phyllis's pet bear, Karen, emerged from her kennel so that she could disembowel the intruder before her. However, rather than be intimated by the all the weapons and wildlife surrounding her, Tala grimaced under her hood, clearly not amused by the thought of wasting anymore time here than she already had.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?" she asked the older woman "Well let me show you!"

Just as the turrets fired a volley of lasers down toward the intruder in unison, Tala created a barrier of psychic energy around herself. The mental shield she had created absorbed the turret's lasers much to the shock of both Phyllis and Phil. Tala then waved her hand at the turrets, causing them to explode from the simply gesture. Tala did away with her mental barrier just the robots began toward their enemy. However, Tala levitated the machines off the ground and began to telekinetically dissemble them with a simple thought before launching the parts up toward Phyllis, who managed to jump out of the way while Phil was unfortunately pinned up the wall as the metal wrapped around him like a snare.

Karen let out a roar and lunged toward Tala, only to be picked up via the mental mistress's psychic powers and chucked across the theater like a ragdoll. Seeing that she had easily crushed what little resistance was left to stand in her way, Tala once again headed for the door. Sashi had since recoiled from the initial hit and was charging toward her opponent at full speed before leaping into the air with a flying kick that was meant to break the villain's back. However, Tala merely stopped the part-time sidekick in mid-air without so much as even making eye contact with the teen before sending her flying backwards into a wall. Penn attempted to also rush toward the woman, but Tala turned to face the part-time hero with her eyes flaring with energy again.

Penn's mind was instantly struck by an intense pain that made him scream in agony as he fell to his knees. He clutched his head as the pain continued to rack his mind. It felt as though someone had set the inside of his brain ablaze with no chance of putting out the fire. Boone rushed to his friend's side and tried to help him, but could only keep the redhead from flaying about on the ground. While the heroes were in a state of total disarray, Rippin and Larry had since abandoned this fool's errand and were attempting to make their exit out the door. Tala used her mental abilities to snatch the two part-time villains and yank them back to her.

"You said you know the way to Gravity Falls, correct?" she questioned Larry

"Oh yeah, I got there all the time" the minion answered, "though only when my time-share allows"

"Then you take me there at once" the mental mistress commanded before looking at Rippin "and you will assist me in my endeavor, or else"

"Uh—yes, of course! I'll help in any way I can1" the art teacher fearfully compiled "always good to work with proper villains I always say and all that! Now could you please let me down?"

"Not just yet" Tala answered

With that, the villainess began to rise off of the group and levitate herself and her new cohorts into the air. She then looked up at the ceiling focused her mental energy toward it before blowing a massive whole through the roof. Tala then rocketed through the hole she had made and flew through it with while mentally Rippin and Larry behind her. Once the interdimensional villain had departed, the agony that besieged Penn's mind stopped, giving him a chance to stand up. Sashi and Phyllis had also recovered from the attack as well and regrouped with the part-time hero.

"We…we gotta stop her" Penna said, still reeling from the pain he was previously in as he did

"Stop her? dude, we couldn't even touch her!" Boone exclaimed "she mopped the floor with us in under two minutes!"

"You don't understand, Boone" his friend began "when Tala was attacking my mind, I could see glimpses of her mind in return. She's like some kind of interdimensional parasite, always looking for the same people in each universe so that she could feed on them"

"Feed on them?" Sashi repeated in the form of a question "But how, and why for that matter?"

"I don't know, Sash" the redhead replied "All I know is that she's going to kill a lot of people to get what she wants. And we're the only ones who can stop her!"

"But how do we even catch her?" the part-time Wiseman addressed "she flew out of the roof!"

"I may have solution" Phyllis said, "I can use Trans-Dimensional Projector to teleport you there before she can reach Gravity Falls"

"But we still down know how to stop her even if we beat her there" Sashi pointed out

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there" Penn answered "Right now we have to focus on getting to the people Tala wants to feed on before she does. When our minds were connected I saw the name of one of them, maybe if we get to him first we can find and save the others before Tala can get them"

"But we won't have any powers when we run into her" Boone reasoned

"That doesn't matter Boone" Penn argued "Even without any powers or weapons to help us, we're still heroes. And right now, we have a villain to stop. So, you all I have to ask is: are you guys with me?"

"Count me in, PZ" Sashi said confidently "I'm gonna crack that bitch's skull open the next time I see her!"

"Dude, after that speech I'd follow you to hell and back!" Boone informed "Let's do this!"

Phyllis could only give a small smile at Penn's words. However, the smile quickly vanished when she remembered that she had a job to do. As the teen's stop on the platform, their boss rushed back up to the projector's controls. After making a few small adjustments, Phyllis sent the trio through the portal, all the while saying a small prayer for them as she did.

"You know I am still pinned to wall, right?" Phil mentioned

"I know, but don't care" his opposite replied

* * *

"Thank you coming Lazy Susan" Mason said as he let the waitress out the door "We'll see what we can do about your missing cats"

After closing the door behind the woman, Dipper blew a haggard sigh. This the sixth time this week Susan had hired the Pines Twins services in order to find her missing felines, and more after than not, they were always hiding under her house. Mason almost felt guilty that the waitress paid them up front—keyword in that sentence being almost.

"Well that's another easy hundred" he informed the rest of the group "how about mini-golf and dinner, my treat"

"We should at least get Susan's cats out from under her house first" his girlfriend mentioned "It's the least we could do for her"

"Aw, but the twenty-percent discount at the golf course ends at noon, dude!" Soos whined

"Besides, I'm the one who always has to get the cats because I'm the only who can squeeze under there" Mabel furthered "Can't we just wait until we're all done having fun?"

"Fine" Wendy conceded "But you're getting every single cat out from under that house"

A collective 'yay!' rang out throughout the Mystery Shack group. The only thing that would've this moment better was if Stan and Ford were joining in on the festivities, but the older twins were currently busy helping Mcguket with his latest experiment. It was probably for the better, considering that Stan had a tendency to pick a fight with the machines at the golf course. Besides, Mason and Wendy had make-out spot inside the giant windmill that they hadn't visited lately—something that the paranormal investigator was going to correct as of tonight.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light suddenly consumed the Mystery Shack's living room, blinding everyone within it for several seconds. When the light dissipated, the group found a trio of teenagers standing before them. The teens appeared as though they were just as shocked of suddenly being inside the Mystery Shack as Dipper and his friends were of their arrival. Dipper and the others readied themselves for a fight, knowing that nothing good came from three teenagers appearing out of a flash of light. Obviously knowing that their sudden intrusion, the boy with red curly hair stepped forward.

"Uh…Hi" he awkwardly greeted the group "I'm Penn Zero, and these are my friends Boone and Sashi. Odd question: Is this Gravity Falls?"

"It would" Dipper answered slowly, still stunned by the trio

"Oh great, now all we need is to find Dipper Pines and we'll in the money" Penn replied, "You wouldn't happen to know where he is right now, would you?"

"You're looking at him" Mason deadpanned

"Really?" Penn said in a bewildered tone as he looked over the other teen from head to toe "But your so much older than the one I saw in the vision"

"Whoa, back up, vision?" Wendy questioned as she put herself between the strangers and her lover "Just who are you people and what do you want with my boyfriend"

"That's on a need to know basis, and you don't need know, lady" the girl named Sashi denied as she marched up to face Wendy

The two women faced off with one another with a look of hostility in their eyes. Both Wendy and Sashi were the strongest members of their respective groups and would no doubt rip each other apart if given the chance to fight. Not wanting things to start off like some bad team-up comic book, Penn quickly took control of the situation.

"Whoa, take it easy, Sash" he soothed his sidekick "we came here to help these people, not start a fist fight with them"

"Help us?" Mason repeated "Help us with what? And again: who the hell are you guys?"

"Maybe it's best if I give you the full rundown of who we are" the part-time hero offered

And so, Penn proceeded to tell the Mystery Shack group about who he and his friends were and what they did. He told them of the multiverse and his and his friends role within it and of his rivalry with Rippin and Larry. Normally, when someone met a group of teenagers that appeared out of a flash of light and were told by said teens that they the protectors of the entire multiverse, they would either think these kids were crazy or in turn go mad themselves. However, Mason Pines and his friends were no strangers to such things and took everything in perfect stride.

"So, just to clarify: you three are heroes who protect the multiverse from falling to a villain whose also your art teacher" Dipper gathered "Is that about right?"

"That's about the long and short of it, yeah" Penn confirmed "you guys are taking this very well"

"Trust us, this doesn't even rank in the top ten weirdest things we've heard" Wendy added

"You could say that we live very interesting lives" Mabel furthered

"Well your lives are lives are about to go from interesting to in danger" the part-time hero warned

"And why's that, dude?" Soos asked

"There's a pyscho calling herself Tala on her way to your town right now with our villains Rippin and Larry backing her up" Penn answered, "and she wants Dipper and by my guess the rest of you as well"

"But why does she want us?" Mason's lover questioned

"I don't know why she does. All I know is what she has planned for you isn't going to be pretty" Penn replied, "we need to get you guys out of here before Tala arrives"

"Quick question, dude: is this Tala lady dressed in a robe and has a hood on?" Soos pondered as he peaked out the window

"That's oddly specific, but yeah, that's her" Boone answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Because she's standing right outside the Mystery Shack with a little nerd and a dude with a skunk on his head" the owner of the tourist trap informed everyone

The united group darted the front door and faced the hooded villainess named Tala with her new henchmen standing on each side of her. While Dipper and others couldn't quite exactly make out any of their still unknown adversary's facial features, they felt almost a sense familiarity from just looking to her cold blue eyes.

"So, your right where I thought you'd be" Tala began with a dark chuckle "even in this your universe your all so predictable"

"Who are you and what do you want with us?' Mason demanded

"I see the boy has told you about me" the hooded villain responded, "but he didn't tell you the whole story"

Every time Tala spoke, the more the feeling familiarity grew inside Dipper and his group. It was like they had met this stranger before, but yet this was their first time they had ever crossed paths. Something felt wrong about this whole and the sooner they got the truth of this the better.

"Judging by your height and new attire, I assume you managed to stop the Weirdmageddon from happening" Tala surmised "sadly, that is not the same case where I come from. In my universe, the Bill of my earth has unleashed Weirdmageddon and has killed everything and everyone I have ever cared for"

"We're…we're to hear that" Dipper sympathized "But what does this have to do with us?"

"You represent the Cipher Wheel, the only thing that can stop Bill" Tala explained as she pointed a gloved finger at them "I require your help in ridding me of this demon so that I may return to my earth a hero!"

"Don't give that bullshit, Tala!" Penn shot back "You don't want their help, you just want to feed on them just like you did the others!"

Just when Dipper's group felt some sort of sympathy for Tala, it instantly turned to anger. Rather than try to deny this fact, the hooded villain only let out a wicked cackle in response, clearly not caring that she had been found out.

"It true! I don't need you, only your souls matter to me!" she admitted with a dark laugh "I've traveled from one universe to another, killing and absorbing the souls of the different versions of you all in order to boost my own powers so that I can return to my earth and kill Bill myself and rule over the ruins as empress!"

"Dude, you are seriously messed up" Soos noted

"we're not going to let you get away with this!" the part-time hero declared

"That's what you've told me at least thirty-three different times, Penn Zero" Tala informed the teen

Penn, Boone and Sashi were visibly shocked by that sudden revelation. When they first faced Tala, they had no idea that she had done battle with different versions of them before, but looking back on how fast she had reacted to their attacks back at the theater mad them realize that she had no doubt done this dance before. As for Dipper's group, it only further showed that this woman was a forced to truly feared.

"How do you think I've been hopping from one universe to another?" she asked "I've using the Trans-Dimensional Projector of the different realities to make the trip. And every time I do, I've killed more than my fair share of Penn Zero's to do so. The only reason I left you three alive this time was because I figured you'd stay at the theater and wait to make a final stand there. I must say I'm impressed that you decided to chase me unlike the others did"

"So, wait, does that mean you've killed us before to?" Rippin asked

"Here's a hint, you fool!" his new boss answered

Tala abruptly hoisted up Rippin and Larry into the air and made the face her. The villainess's cold blue eyes suddenly changed into a dark green as she opened her mouth. As she did, Rippin and Larry's eyes also changed to the same color of green as their mouths were forced open. Once their mouths were fully opened, a small stream of smoke that were obviously were their souls flew from them and into Tala's mouth. The team of heroes could only look on in sheer horror as they watched the two part-time villains' bodies began to wither away. Within mere seconds, Rippin and Larry had been turned into a pair dried husks of soulless corpses.

"Dude…" Boone gasped "I know they were our enemies, but they didn't deserve that"

Penn couldn't help but agree with that. Despite all the hell Rippin had put him through, no one deserved to be killed in that horrific manner.

"They fall for it every time" Tala mentioned with a chuckle "Now whose next?"

"You're not getting our souls, Tala!" Mason proclaimed, "We'd rather die than be taken by you!"

"Ah Dipper, I can't tell you how many times you've told me that line before" the villain retorted "You even told me that pathetic line the first time I consumed your soul"

"And that's the other thing, I'm not fully convinced you are who you say you are" the Pines boy continued "The only way you could know about the Cipher Wheel was if you've read the journals, and I doubt any version of myself just handed it over to you"

"Not unless you knew me, that is" Tala retorted as she began to reach upward toward her hood "And trust me, I know you better than you know yourself"

With that, the woman pulled back her hood to reveal her true face, instantly making everyone gasp in shock at the sight of Tala's true identity

"After all, it's always the ones you love that end up hurting you the most" the alternate version of Wendy said before letting out an evil cackle


	2. A Mirror Broken: Part Two

A Mirror Broken: Part Two

The shock from seeing Tala's true face hadn't worn off. Seeing an evil visage of Wendy was unlike they could ever imagine. This version of Mason's lover appeared as though she was at least nineteen or twenty years old. She was a good foot taller than her younger counterpart and had a silver streak running down the fair left side of her long red hair. Her build was slightly more muscular then the other Wendy's was and there was look of pure madness in her icy blue eyes as opposed to her counterparts now shocked green ones. No one was more horrified by this revelation more than Wendy herself, who still reeling that their new enemy was her from another earth. Dipper put a protective arm around her to silently assure that he was still for her regardless of what their adversary looked like.

While Penn, Sashi and Boone hardly knew the group they had come to save, they could only imagine the confusion and anguish they were going through of seeing a friend and lover as a type of monster. The part-time heroes were also still trying to comprehend witnessing the brutal deaths at the hand of the woman who had been slaying alternate versions of trio throughout the Multiverse and using different versions of the Trans-Dimensional Projector to traverse the multiple universes to continue her quest for power. She had defeated once already, and Penn and his team feared that they wouldn't fare any better a second time.

"God, I never get tired of that!" Tala said as she laughed once more "no matter how many times I make that reveal, everyone makes those exact same faces and it's priceless every time!"

Wendy couldn't bear to look at this twisted reflection version of herself and buried her head into Mason's shoulder and tried her best not to weep. The other Wendy took note of this reaction and grinned darkly, loving the sight of another version of herself refusing to accept the reality before them. Dipper and the others were still reeling from seeing this wicked version of the woman he loved, but they still wanted to know how she was capable of the powers she wielded. The other and much larger question on their minds was why any version of their friend would become a soul stealing monster.

"Why are you doing this?" Mabel demanded

"And how?" Penn added

"I'll show you" Tala replied

With that, she threw off her robes and revealed the attire under it. She wore a bright green long sleeved vest over a black shirt and had on green skirt with long black boots that ran up to her thighs. To top her off her outlandish attire, she wore a long green cape that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. But the one piece of clothing that the group was focused on was a dark green opal that was attached to a choker around her neck.

"Dudes, is it just me, or is this Wendy dressed almost like Gideon?" Soos pondered

"How very astute of you, Soos" Tala congratulated in a sarcastic voice "I guess you could say that I had the role of Gideon in my universe. In fact, Madame Tala was my stage name. However, unlike that moron, I was born with my mental powers rather than have them given to me by some gem"

"So why are you wearing gem now?" Sashi demanded

"This is the Eye of Anubis" the other Wendy explained "it amplifies my powers with every soul I consume, trapping them within it for all eternity. And trust me, I've consumed a lot quite of souls"

"You're a monster!" Melody condemned

"Like I haven't heard that one from every Melody" the wicked Wendy deadpanned with an eyeroll "Now then, now that I've gotten my back story out of the way…"

Tala extended her arms out toward the group and began psychically pull the people she had come to consume toward her. Dipper and the other's tried their best to fight against the force that was dragging them toward the soul-eating villain, but the power that the reverse Wendy was using was too great from them resist for long. Acting quickly, Penn and his friends sprang into action. Sashi searched for something she could use as a weapon while Peen and Boone tried desperately to pull Dipper and the others away from Wendy's mental hold on them, but to no avail. Just as the Mystery Shack group was a mere foot away from their fate, Sashi snatched up a broom, snapped off the tip of it and turned it into a makeshift spear. The part-time sidekick steadied herself and took careful aim at Tala's chest before throwing her weapon with everything she had.

The makeshift struck spear struck the villainous version of Wendy dead in the chest, making her release her hold on her prey as she did. As Dipper and his friends recovered from nearly being drained of their lifeforce, they watched as the alternate version of Mason's lover stumble backwards as she clutched onto the broom that was now impaled into her chest. Wendy however, refused to look at sight, just wanting to get this whole nightmare over with. But just as they thought they had won, Tala began to laugh once more. She took hold of the broom in her chest and ripped it from her body, much to the horror of everyone around her. The wound Sash's weapon had made sealed shut, leaving not even so much as a small scar behind as it healed.

"Did I forget to mention that the eye also heals any and all wounds?" the dark version of Wendy commented as she tossed the broom aside "must've slipped my mind"

"Then we'll just keep hitting you till you finally go down!" Penn proclaimed

"You're welcome to try" Tala offered "Take your best shot"

"Get her!" Mason commanded

Everyone rushed toward the villainess, only to be knocked backwards by a psychic shockwave. Sashi was the first to recoil from the initial attack and lunged once more at the wicked woman. Tala smirked as she saw the violent teen coming at and stood at the ready for her attack. The part-time sidekick threw a flurry of kicks and punches at the villainess, who only blocked every attempted hit on her person. Sashi was refused to back down and tried to use her more advanced moves to try and throw Tala off her balance. The sidekick tried a sweeping kick, the mental mistress levitated off the ground to avoid the attack before landing back the ground and bringing her leg up to strike the teenage square in the gut with a single strong kick, knocking the air out of the young marital artist's lungs in a one powerful blow. Tala then launched Sashi away from her vicinity with a blast of telekinetic energy that sent her flying into Soos, which caused the two of them to tumble back into the dirt.

Penn and Boone also tried to rush Tala, but with a flick of her wrist, she pinned the pair up against a nearby tree and held them there with her powers. Mabel got behind the villain and took out her grappling hook and fired it at the doppelganger of her friend with the intention of wrapping the line around her enemy's throat. But as the hook was only inches away from its target, the alternate Wendy stopped the line with a thought before redirecting it back to Mabel who was then hogtied by her own grappling hook.

"What's the matter Mabel? Not into bondage?" Tala cruelly joked

Suddenly, a fist came flying in that struck Tala across her cheek that sent her stumbling backwards. She looked up to see that the one who had struck was Dipper, who had his fists up and ready for another round.

"Now this is new" she noted "usually, most Dipper's I run into usually hesitate when they fight me, but you're the first to actually hit me!"

"Because the Wendy I love isn't a monster like you!" Mason shot back

"Well she's not acting like herself either" the twisted mirror of his lover pointed out as she motioned her head over to where Wendy was standing

His girlfriend had a look of sheer terror on her face. Wendy was still petrified by the sight of the dark reflection of herself and was unable to so much as move to aide her lover. In that moment of distraction, Tala reached out and grabbed Mason by the throat and lifted off the ground. She then opened her mouth as Dipper tried his best to break out of her hold on his neck. Suddenly, Tala's eyes changed to green like before when she devoured Rippin and Larry's souls. Dipper's eyes also glowed the same shade of green as well as his body went limp while his mouth was forced open. The two groups of heroes could only look on hopelessly in horror as Mason's soul was drained from his body.

Mabel let out a scream that was a mixture of fear and sadness as she watched her brother's body wither away into an almost mummified state. In that moment, a flash of white-hot rage sparked within Wendy's mind as she watched the alternate version of herself toss the body of the man she loved to the ground as if his corpse was a candy wrapper. With a furious of anger, the redhead charged at her doppelganger with her fists at the ready. But before she could even throw a single punch, Tala shoved her back with a telekinetic blast before yanking her into the air and tossing her through the window of the Mystery Shack.

"Next?" the mental mistress asked casually

Suddenly, Tala heard the sound of a car horn from the right side of her. she turned her head to see Soos's car with the handyman and Sashi at the front seats. The owner of the Mystery Shack hit the gas pedal with the full weight of his foot as he rammed his vehicle into the psychic at full speed. Before Tala could react, the car hit the villainess and continued to drive until Soos slammed it into the tree that was earlier the spot where Dipper and Wendy where enjoying a short reprieve from the madness in their lives. The heavy-set man and the part-time sidekick staggered out of the now wrecked vehicle, feeling disoriented from the sudden impact from the tree.

"I told you it was good idea" Sashi mentioned as she fought through dazed feeling

"I just hope this is covered by my insurance, dude" Soos replied

Since Tala had been apparently crushed by Soos's car, her mental hold on Penn and Boone was broken, allowing them to move away from the tree they were previously being telekinetically pinned to. Penn quickly rushed over to Mabel's side and untied her while at the same time Wendy dragged herself out of the gift shop and saw the broken body of her wicked doppelganger crushed between Soos's car and the tree. Victory tasted like ashes in the ginger's mouth, for she had lost her love to a twisted version of herself. It almost as if she had killed Mason herself. But just everyone had thought they had won this battle, Boone noticed that Tala's fingers were starting to twitch.

"You guys…" he warned the others "I don't think she's dead!"

No sooner had the part-time Wiseman said that, the car was shoved back several feet to allow the broken and mangled body to shamble out of the wreckage. Tala neck, legs and arms were broken and contorted into horrid and inhuman angels. Her chest had been crushed in on itself and apart of her face had been ripped off to reveal a good chunk of her skull and apart of her brain as well. The twisted body moving about was more than enough to make both Boone and Soos vomit.

"What part of 'heal from any wound' did you morons not understand?!" she demanded in a gargled voice as blood erupted of her mouth "Now I have to go and pull myself back together, but I'll be pack for seconds!"

"Oh no you don't!" Wendy denied as she ran toward her other self "You're not getting away!"

But it was too late, her doppelganger had already flown into the skies above before. Wendy screamed in rage up toward the skies as she watched her twisted reflection of herself fly off into the distance. There was no immediate battle plan, no rousing speech to rally them together, only fear, sadness and dread filled the heroes' hearts as they gathered around Dipper's body. Mabel fell to her knees before throwing herself over her twin brother's body and sobbing uncontrollably over the loss she had been suddenly dealt. Soon, Soos and Melody were also weeping for the loss of their friend.

Penn and his friends were also disheartened as well. They had traveled here to try and save these people from threat they should've been able to stop, but yet they had already lost already and there no way they knew if they could protect the others from sharing the same fate as Mason did. Never had the part-time heroes felt this helpless before. they were facing an enemy with unmeasurable power and there was nothing they could think that could stop Tala from striking again once she had healed herself.

The only one who wasn't in tears was Mason's lover, for her sadness had turned into rage. She refused to let the boy she loved die for nothing while his killer still remained at large and hunting the other members of the Cipher Wheel. She didn't care if Tala was different version of herself, like Mason had said, she was a monster and simple, and the last time she checked, she was in the business of killing monsters.

"We're not going to let her get away with this" she told the others "We're going find her and kill her!"

"But how, Wendy?" Penn questioned "we don't even know where she went"

"No, but I know where she'll go next" the lumberjack's daughter answered, "She'll be looking for the other people on the Cipher Wheel after she heals up"

"What the hell is this Cipher Wheel anyway?" Penn's sidekick asked

"Long story short: it's a McGuffin that didn't work" Wendy replied, "But Tala is going to go after those who are on it"

"Ok, so who's on this wheel thing?" Boone inquired

"Me, Mason, Mabel and Soos for starters, as well as Mabel's great uncles" the lumberjack's daughter explained "There's also four more along with us"

"You don't think she'll go after Mr. Pines next, do you?" Soos wondered

"I doubt it, she'll save him and Ford for last, the same goes for Mcguket" Wendy concluded "So that means we need to find Gideon, Robbie and Pacifica before she does"

"We'll help in any way we can" Penn offered "What do you need?"

"We need to find the others and get them back to Mcguket's mansion. That place is like a fortress" Wendy informed the others "Mabel, you, Sashi and I will get Pacifica. Soos, you take Penn and Boone and get Robbie. I'll call Stan and tell him what's going on, hopefully he and Ford can get to Gideon before Tala can"

"No" Mabel suddenly spoke as she stood up "I'll call them. they need to hear this from me"

"Are you sure, Mabel?" her friend asked "You can— "

"Please, Mabel" she begged with pleading eyes "Just let me do this"

"…ok" the ginger conceded

"What about me?" Melody commented

"You need to go straight to Mcguket's house. You'll be safe there" Wendy replied

Soos's girlfriend nodded in understanding. While she wanted to help more, she knew that this was far beyond her understanding and knew that her boyfriend and his friends would be able to handle this.

"Ok, so even if we manage to save everyone, what's to stop Tala from coming after us all at once?" Sashi mentioned "We can't exactly put her down"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" the redhead said, "right now we need to focus on saving everyone for Tala has a chance to feed on them as well"

"What about Dipper?" Mabel asked sorrowfully "We can't just leave him here"

"And we're not, Mabel" Wendy assured before looking back to Melody "Melody, I want you to take his body to the mansion. Maybe Ford can figure out a way to reverse what Tala did to him"

"How can you reverse getting your soul ripped out of Brendan Fraser Mummy style?" Boone asked before getting elbowed in the gut by Sashi

"Look, we've wasted enough time as it is. We need to get going now!" Wendy ordered

The rest of the group nodded in a united understanding before setting out to carry out their respective duties. As they did that, Wendy kneeled down next to the body of her beloved and gently caressed his cheek like she did when he was still alive before placing a sweet kiss atop his now cold forehead. She was going to avenge him if that was the last thing she did on this earth.

"I won't let her get away with this" she whispered to her lover's body "I swear it"

With that, everyone split up and headed off to carry out their respective missions. They were still unsure as to how they were going to stop Tala once they had gotten everyone to the mansion, but that didn't matter now. What did matter was keeping anyone else from sharing Dipper's fate and finding some way to bring down the interdimensional villainess once and for all. The heroes knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but so long as Mason's killer still walked the earth they wouldn't rest until she was stopped. It didn't matter how times they had to kill her, all that mattered was avenging Dipper's death.

* * *

When Stan first got the call from Mabel, he couldn't quite understand what his grand-niece was saying due to the fact that she was in tears on the other end. It was obvious that she was distressed about something, but he didn't want it was. After getting her to calm down, he finally found out the reason why she was upset, and in all honesty, he wished he hadn't. Upon hearing that Dipper had been apparently slain by a version of Wendy from another earth, the former owner of the Mystery Shack fell to his knees and stunned sadness. Ford and Mcguket, who were in the room when he got the news, quickly rushed to his side and questioned what he had heard over the phone. When he told them the tragic news, they to wept for their loss.

But soon their tear soon turned to rage. The two brothers and the inventor weren't the type of people to simply sit on their asses and grieve, not while Mason's killer still breathed. They immediately went to work setting up defenses and arming themselves with Stan's weapons who had brought them over from the Mystery Shack as well as broke out Ford and Fiddleford's experimental arsenal. They knew that the woman calling herself Tala would be coming after them in order to drain them of their souls as Dipper did. But if she wanted their souls, she'd have to work for them first.

Just then, they heard a knock at the door, nearly making the three elderly men jump out of their skins in surprise. With his shotgun in hand, Stan carefully made his way to the front dor. While he doubted that Tala would do something as announce herself to the men she was hunting, the old con-artist knew that one can never be too careful when dealing with the paranormal. Stan threw open the door and much to his relief, found Gideon standing before him.

"Put that blasted gun away before you blow my face off!" the boy ordered

"You know, if this had been a year ago I would've shot you dead and pinned it on Tobey" Stan commented "I see you got my message. You wouldn't have happened to bring your boys along with you, did you?"

"I did, they're forming a perimeter around the building as we speak" the old man's former rival answered as he entered "I can assure you that whatever is hunting us won't be coming in here anytime soon"

After Mabel had told Stan of the loss of Dipper, she explained the entire situation to him. not only had she told him of Tala's intentions, but also their need to rescue Gideon, Robbie and Pacifica below they shared the same fate as Dipper. Stan and Ford were tasked with locating Gideon, and while he and the former Mr. Mystery had put aside their rivalry since the end of Weirdmageddon, that didn't mean they still bare some form of animosity toward one another. Since last year, the former villain had been trying to repair the damage he had done to the town by assisting with the reconstruction of it with the help of his former prison inmates.

Rather than leave the mansion, Stan called his former rival and told him most of the situation. After making sure his parents were safe in the cellar, Gideon and his gang headed to old inventor's manor as fast as he could travel. While he still didn't fully understand as to who or what was hunting them, what was told of who had fallen to their unknown enemy's hands.

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear about Dipper, Stan" he said sincerely

"Thanks…" Stan found himself saying "That means a lot coming from you"

"If there's any way I can help in stopping this thing that's hunting us, you'll have my aide" the boy furthered

"Let's just focus on surviving first" the Ford reasoned

Suddenly, the group heard a scream coming outside which was then followed by more—the screams of Gideon's team. Ford and the others could hear the sounds Gideon's fellow former prison inmate being attack by unseen enemy that was no doubt the one who had come for them. What took them aback was how sudden the attack was, Ford assumed that they at least had more time before Tala arrived.

"Up the stairs—Go! Now!" the scientist commanded

"But my men— "Gideon attempted to argue

"It's too late for them!" Stan interrupted before snatching up the boy "Come on pipsqueak, we gotta move!"

Before anyone could move, one of Gideon's gang members, Ghost Eyes, was thrown through one of the windows and landed at the feet for Stan and the others. He was then suddenly yanked into the air by an invisible force as he eyes flashed with green light. The group watched in shock as Ghost Eyes soul was pulled from his body and flew behind him, turning his body into a withered husk. Stand and Ford could only imagine the pain their grand-nephew went through when he was attacked in such a fashion. Within seconds after his soul was removed, Ghost Eyes's body was dropped back down to the floor to reveal Tala floating behind him. Even though he knew who Tala was, it still disturbed him to see the face of ex-employee as the adversary they were facing.

"Wait—Dipper's girlfriend is doing this!" Gideon shouted in confusion "But why?!"

"That ain't our Wendy, this ones from another universe" Stan explained as he locked eyes with her "and this one's a soul-stealing bitch!"

"Ah Stan, no matter how many versions of you I absorb, I never get tired of your petty insults" Tala said before looking over to Gideon "Thank you for the appetizer by the way, Gideon. I was feeling a tad hungry"

"We ain't scared of you, missy!" Mcguket declared

"That was first your mistake" the other Wendy replied, "and your last"

With that, Tala lunged at Ford and the rest of her prey.

* * *

While Pacifica had changed as a person, her father's sins of trying to unite with Bill weighed heavily on the Northwest family. Once the Northwest's name invoked one of respect, now it was one of shame. While the family still had money, they weren't as powerful or influential as they once were. After losing their mansion to Mcguket, Pacific and her parents had since moved into a smaller house outside of town and away from those who considered them a pariah. Despite her disposition, the heiress to the Northwest's now slightly diminished fortune kept her new outlook on life in balance. While she had lost her previous so-called friends after the stigma her farther caused her, she had since befriended Candi and Grenda and even Mabel via long-distance before coming back to Gravity Falls. By all accountants, the girl who once looked down on everyone was now happier than she had ever been before.

But the blonde's reformation from being a snob to a humble person didn't save her from Tala's grasp, as was evident from her withered body lying on the ground alongside the drained bodies of her parents. Wendy, Mabel and Sashi had arrived too late rescue them, and now were once again left in the wake of the carnage of the evil version of lumberjack's daughter had left behind. Wendy clenched her fists in anger as she looked down at the bodies of the Northwest families. She had failed to protect those around her once again.

"This can't be happening!" Mabel shouted in a panic

"How could Tala be healing from those wounds already?" Sashi asked "I know that gem around her neck is strong, but I didn't think she would try to attack anyone while she was still healing"

"Well, it looks like she can heal faster than we thought" the redhead noted

Just then, Wendy got a call from Soos, and she had a bad feeling that his team had failed in saving Robbie.

"Dude, it's a mess here" the handyman began "Tala got Robbie and the rest of your friends. I'm so sorry, Wendy"

"Dammit!" Wendy cursed in anger "She got to Pacifica to. That means she's probably already heading for Stan and the others"

"I'll call Mr. Pines and warn him" Soos replied "in the meantime, you dudes better get over there. We're headed to the mansion as well"

"Just stay safe, Soos" the redhead warned him before hanging up

* * *

Soos breathed out a defeated sigh. Things were looking more and more grim with each passing moment. When he, Penn and Boone found Robbie's car, it had been flipped on its side and laying on the side of the road on the edge of town. It was almost as if the goth and his friends were trying to serve out of the way of something in the road. Upon further inspection, the trio discovered that the roof of the van had been ripped upon by something, or rather, someone with great strength. But Soos and the part-time heroes knew that this was not done through physical strength, this accomplished by mental strength. They found Robbie and Wendy's friends laying within the wrecked vehicle in the same condition as Dipper was currently in.

Things were looking all the more dire as it clear that Tala was moving faster than they could anticipate. With both Robbie and Pacifica drained of their souls, Tala's hit list was quickly sinking down and there was no doubt that she would going after Mr. Pines and his brother next. Hopefully, along with Mcguket and Gideon, could keep Melody safe from this monster's soul sucking rampage.

"Shouldn't we call the cops or something?" Penn asked

"Nah dude, this way over their heads" Soos explained "besides we'd just be racking out Tala's body count if we did"

"Then what can we do?" Boone questioned "we can't kill her—we can't even touch her!"

"We'll find a way, Boone" his friend reassured before muttersing under his breath "I hope…"

Suddenly, the owner of the Mystery Shack's cellphone rang once more. At first, he assumed that it was Wendy calling him back with a plan to stop her evil doppelganger, but instead was his lover name that came up on his phone. The new Mr. Mystery merely thought that Melody only wanted to tell them that she had arrived at Mcguket's mansion safely and that she wanted to tell him that she was worried about him.

"Hey sweetie, you make it over there ok?" he inquired sweetly

"Put me on speaker, now" Tala's voice ordered on the other end of the line

Soos nearly dropped the phone. It had only been a less than a second after hearing the woman's voice and his mind was already racing with images of Melody being drained of her lifeforce like Dipper and the others. He did as he was instructed to do and put the madwoman on speaker for Penn and Boone to hear.

"Let me start by saying that your girlfriend is still alive, Soos" she began "But that can change if you all don't do exactly as I say"

"What do you want?" Penn demanded

"Well, as you can already guess I've drained Stan, Ford, Mcguket and Gideon" she explained "Now all I need is Soos, Mabel and my weaker self and my work here is done. So, here's the deal: their lives for Melody's. Personally, I think it's a fair trade, after all, isn't a hero supposed to sacrifice themselves for others?"

"There is no way we're going to— "the part-time hero attempted to deny

"I'll do it" Soos complied firmly "Just please…don't hurt her"

"Good boy. Now I want you to tell Mabel and my other me what's going on and meet me at Mcguket's mansion within the hour, or she'll be joining the rest of my prey" Tala threated "Oh and Penn, if I see you or any of your friends than you can explained to Soos why the love of his life had to die!"

After giving her demands, Tala cut communication between them. Soos was still in a haze of confusion even after his enemy had hung up the phone. was she lying? Could Melody already be dead? It was difficult to say. What he did know was that he had to make a choice right now: his life and the life of his friends for the woman he loved. The handyman was ready to sacrifice himself for Melody, but he doubted that Mabel and Wendy would be willing to die so easily.

"You can't actuality be considering this, Soos" Penn tried to reason "you'll be walking right into a trap!"

"What choice do I have, dude?' Soos countered "Melody's my girlfriend—I'm not just gonna abandon her!"

Penn paused for a moment, bring his finger up to his chin as he began to fall in a deep train of thought. How could they stop a villain that attack you without so much as touch? Let alone one that could drain you of your very soul and place it in an endless void. Suddenly, a spark an idea can to the part-time hero. Perhaps Tala's greatest weapon was also her greatest weakness as well.

"Guys, I think I may have an idea" he told his friends

* * *

As instructed, Soos, Mabel and Wendy arrived at Mcguket's manor alone and unarmed. It wasn't like they could actuality harm Tala since she could send them flying all across the room like ragdolls with just a thought. The trio still didn't know if the invader from another earth had kept her word on keeping Melody alive, but they didn't want to run the risk of endangering the woman more than they already had. Penn and his team hung back, but still remained close to be at their side when the time was right.

The front door to the mansion slowly opened via Tala's mental command to allow her last three victims to step inside. Once they entered, they found Wendy's wicked doppelganger had placed the drained bodies of her victims in chairs as they were lined up in a row. Wendy doubted that her twisted reflection did this for the sake of some ritual, but more of a way as to show them that there was no hope for them. As they upon the withered bodies of their friends and family, Mabel fell to her knees when she saw the bodies of her great-uncles sitting before her. despair filled the girl's heart once again as she realized that more of her family had fallen prey to Tala soul-draining hunger.

"Ah, excellent, you came" came Tala's voice

The three heroes looked up to see the one who was hunting them slowly descend from the ceiling above them all the while having a devious smirk on her face as she did, obviously thinking she had won. In the villainess's clutches was Melody, who was struggling in her grasp.

"And here I was beginning to think that didn't care for poor little Melody here" the invader from another earth continued

"We did as you asked, now let her go!" Soos demanded

"Of course, I'm a woman of my word after all" Tala replied before suddenly adding "oh wait, no I'm not!"

Suddenly, Tala opened her mouth and proceed to consume Melody's soul right before her lover and his friend's eyes. After feeding on her lifeforce, Tala tossed the body of Soos's girlfriend at his feet. Soos let out a mournful cry and collapsed to his knees and cradled Melody's body in his arms as he began to sob. Wendy glared daggers at her villainous counterpart, who only smirked back at her younger self.

"You three are by far the most gullible versions of my victims I've ever met!" Tala taunted with a laugh "did you really think for one second that I'd actuality hold up my end of the bargain?"

"Actuality, we didn't" Wendy replied, "Which is why we didn't either!"

Just then, a gunshot rang out from behind before the interdimensional villainess felt something strike her in the back that caused her to stumble forward. Surprised and infuriated, Tala spun around to see Penn, Boone and Sashi standing on the balcony above her with an assortment of Stan's weaponry in their hands.

"What?!" Tala exclaimed in rage

"We may or may not told Penn and friends about the secret passageways Ford installed into this place for situations like this" Wendy explained "and I may have told them where Stan keeps his guns"

"Normally I'm above killing my enemies, but for you I'll make an exception!" the part-time hero declared

The three heroes opened fire on the psychic, but just before their bullets hit her, Tala created a telekinetic shield in front of her. however, while she was focused on the three assailants above her that she failed to notice Mabel drawing her grappling hook once more. However, instead of aiming for the villain's neck, she instead took aim at the woman's ankle. She fired and this time the cord hit its mark. Tala noticed to late what Mabel was doing as she pulled off her balance and sent falling face first onto the ground. The wicked version of Wendy quickly flipped over and fired a psychic blast that Mabel sailing back several feet.

Soos grabbed a nearby vase off of a table attempted to bash it over Tala's skull, only to be grabbed by a mental force and flung right into Penn and friends. Wendy kept up the attack by coming behind and putting her arm around Tala's throat in a choke hold. Sadly however, her hold on her other worldly counterpart knocked her off her body with another blast of metal energy. With Wendy stunned, Tala telekinetically held the teenager in place before lifting her into the air.

"An admirable last stand, but I think it's time you surrendered" her doppelganger said

"I'll never stop fighting you!" Wendy defiantly spat "not after what you did to Mason!"

"Trust me darling, you're better off without him" her evil counterpart reasoned "every Mason I've drained is the same: their hopelessly in love in love with us"

"And you think that a bad thing?" Wendy questioned

"If you have bigger ambitions than ruling a small backwater town, yes" Tala nonchalantly answered "Although to be fair, my Mason did find me the Eye of Anubis. He told me that it was a token of his love, can you believe that shit? I almost felt bad taking his soul—keyword being _almost_ "

"So, you've always been a bitch is what you're saying?" the lumberjack's daughter concluded

"I'd say I'm a driven, work-focused woman, but bitch works to" Tala replied

"Your also easily distracted" Sashi's voiced pointed out

Before Tala could react, the part-time sidekick suddenly darted toward the universe-hopping villainess and managed to snatch the Eye of Anubis from her neck, forcing her to drop Wendy in the process. Tala fired another psychic blast the violent teen, but Sashi managed to toss the gem over to Penn before getting slammed into the wall by the mental blast. Tala was about unleash another telekinetic attack when the part-time hero held the gem into the air.

"I wouldn't if I were you" he warned "I've got your gem, remember? We wouldn't want anything bad happening to it, would we?"

"Nice try Penn, but the gem can only be destroyed by the owner of the Eye if they so command it to" Tala informed him "you must be a special kind of stupid to think you could convince to destroy my own gem"

"Like the special kind of stupid who forgot that another version of herself is standing in the same room as her to hear that?" Wendy commented

Tala's eyes widen to horror upon making that realization. Tala attempted to whirl around and try to silence her counterpart from speaking by draining her soul, but it was too late by then.

"Gem, I order you to destroy yourself!" the lumberjack girl commanded

The Eye of Anubis began to rapidly heat up in Penn's hand, causing him to drop it. the alternate Wendy tried to over to her source of power, but Sashi, Boone and Soos tackled her to the ground and kept her pinned as the gem stared to crack apart as dark green light began to rise from the inside of the Eye. Suddenly, the Eye of Anubis exploded from inside out. The resulting destruction of the gem allowed the captive souls that had been trapped inside of it for so long to spill back out into the of the recently stolen souls returned to their bodies while the hundreds flew freely, finally released from their prison. To everyone's joy, they witnessed as Dipper, Stan, Ford and the others were restored to their original selves in a matter of seconds.

"Ugh, I feel like I just went through my divorce all over again" Stan groaned "only this time I lost the car"

"Guys!" Mabel cried out as she ran over to her family members and embraced in a group hug "You're ok!"

"Aside the possible phycological trauma I might deal with in the future, yes we're fine Mabel" her brother assured her

"Mason!" Wendy shouted in joy as she ran over to him and hugged him tightly "thank god that worked!"

Before Mason could return the hug, Tala threw the trio that was keeping her pinned with powerful psychic shockwave. She lunged toward the girl who had ruined her plans with murder in her eyes. Acting quickly, Dipper reached down and grabbed one of Stan's guns that had dropped during the fight and fired a shot right into Tala's stomach, making her collapse to the ground as she screamed in pain.

"I'm guessing you haven't felt real pain in a long time, huh?" Mason gathered "How does it feel to the one of the receiving end?"

"This isn't over!" his lover evil counterpart snarled

Before Dipper could put another bullet into her, Tala ripped open a hole in the roof of the mansion before rocketing out of the building and into skies above. Dipper growled in anger, cursing himself for not pulling the trigger sooner. Now Tala was out there, no doubt plotting her revenge on those who had stolen her power from her.

"You should've shot her in the head" Robbie mentioned

"Robbie, I'm holding a gun and pist off, do you really wanna test me?" Mason threated, making the goth quickly shut up

"Well great, now we've got another whacko after us" Stan griped "and I was hoping to keep this summer freak free"

"You think she'll try to flee to another world?" Rippin asked

"I doubt it, she's lost her gem that strength her powers. She can't go to her earth and face her Bill now" Dipper concluded

"Which means she's our problem now" Ford concluded

"If Tala ever comes back, we'll be there to help you guys out" Penn offered with a handshake

"Thanks, Penn" Mason replied, returning the handshake as he did

"Yay, new friends!" Soos cheered as Melody hugged him tightly

"Right, well, I've had about enough this this 'team-up' nonsense. Can we please go home now?" the part-time villain questioned Penn "tell Phyllis to send us back at once"

"Actually Rippin, _we're_ going back to the theater" his rival corrected "You and Larry can take the bus back to Middleburg"

"Cheer up Rippin, I've got enough money to take us back home" his part-time minion informed him "on the trip back I can tell you about the time I got trapped inside a washing machine for three days"

And there it was, the start of a new adventure for the Pines Twins and their friends. In just one day, they had gained both new friends and a new enemy. But in a strange way, Mason was almost excited by this turn of events. Ever since he had left Gravity Falls the first time, he had been craving a new adventure, and perhaps this was what he had been waiting for. True, he knew that Tala was still out there along with an unknown threats to the town, but Dipper had feeling that this time he and his family wouldn't facing these new dangers alone.


	3. The Last Meeting of The Illuminati

_**A/N: It's only the second story and I'm already doing a multi-crossover story. So, time we have Gravity Falls crossover with Rick and Morty, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Transformers and Steven Universe, with a few hints of others shows here and there. As always none of these characters belong to me and I hold you'll all enjoy the story.**_

* * *

The Last Meeting of The Illuminati

 _ **The Past…**_

Ford had been sitting on this rock out in the middle of the forest for nearly an hour now. Had it not been for the fact that he had been called out here by someone he trusted he wouldn't bothered with standing out here in the first place. The scientist checked his watch for now the fourth time now and watched as the two arms on his watch turned reached twelve, indicating that it was now midnight. Ford let out an impatience sigh, he waited to be kept waiting like this, especially when he had some much work of his own to deal with. But urgency in his friend's words seemed quite real and considering that this particular friend was usually apathetic toward just everything, it must have meant that the situation was truly dire.

Friend, now there was a word that was truly alien to Ford. Sure, he had Fiddleford, and his team, but even as a boy Ford never really had time to socialize with people. Aside from his brother Stanly, the paranormal investigator never really had time to make friends with other people. He always carried himself with this aura of pride and high intellect that often off put other people, which was fine by Ford, the less people around him the better. Gravity Falls and the rest of the paranormal activity that was scattered throughout the dark corners of the world made it to dangerous for those who had no clue as to how to properly handle themselves when faced such horrors or how to carry out what needed to be done at times. Perhaps that's why he liked working with this group, they knew how to protect themselves and knew when to make the impossible choices.

The paranormal researcher could still remember the day they all met. Five years ago, Ford was in Manhattan after Fiddleford tipped him off that he had been picking up mysterious energy signatures coming from the city. Ford set out to investigate these strange energy readings and soon discovered that he was not the only one following the trail. Four other likeminded beings were also on the hunt for whatever was happening in New York and were determined to get to the bottom of it. However, unlike Ford, the other four individuals were vastly different from him in that weren't human.

The first one he came across was a scientist named Rick Sanchez, although scientist was probably being kind considering that Rick was really a madman with a serious death wish. At first, Ford assumed that Rick was human like him, but while he was human at one point in his life, that was no longer the case. Apparently, Rick had the means to traverse the multiverse, and in his travels, he joined a rebel cell that battled a tyrannical intergalactic government. As one would imagine, a mere mortal man could not keep fighting for as long as he has without receiving some serious injuries during said war. So, he was given cybernetic upgrades that allowed the now elderly man to keep fighting. Not only that, but Rick was incredibly intelligent, able to think of solutions no one could have ever dreamed of. However, the reasoning for Rick being here wasn't exactly for scientific reasons: he was bored and wanted to kill some time.

Following that was Rose Quartz, the leader of wayward aliens who called themselves the Crystal Gems. Apparently, Rose lead a rebellion against her own people centuries ago when they attempted to turn the plant into a colony to produce new servants for their masters, the Diamonds. Ford had some experiences with the Gems, or better put, had experiences with the aftermath of their war. In his travels, he had come across the battle scars of the Gems civil war on earth, but never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would actually meet one of these off-world beings—let alone the leader if the rebellion that saved humanity form being wiped out by tyranny of the Diamonds. Rose had apparently been following these energy readings in secret from the rest of her team, fearing that may be the work of Homeworld trying to once again take the earth for their own.

The next was another being from another world, only the world that this person hailed from another dimension entirely. Her name was Moon Butterfly, and she was the queen of a wayward world called Mewni. Moon was a master of her world's mystic arts and wielded a magical wand that was not only an object of great power but was also the symbol of her people's mastery over the forces of evil. Moon had traveled to earth in search of several missing subjects that had vanished. She had used a spell to locate them and followed it here, where she only discovered the bodies of those she had intended to save. Now she was concerned with avenging her slain people by bringing down whoever or whatever had taken them in the first place.

Finally, there was Optimus Prime, the leader of a faction of sentient, alien machines known as the Autobots. Much like with Rose, Ford had been investigating the Autobots as well, though it was much easier to do considering that the war the Autobots waged with their long-standing enemies, the Decepticons, was out in the open for all to see since they worked alongside the UN when it came to matters of dealing with Megatron and his followers. Admittedly, Ford couldn't help but feel a little giddy inside with meeting the leader of the Autobots face to face. Optimus's reasoning for coming to New York alone was because he suspected that Megatron was working on a new form of weaponry to use on Prime's soldiers and did not want his men to be caught in the line of fire should that be true.

However, the source of the mysterious energy readings wasn't the work of the Decepticons or Homeworld, but by another cosmic race of beings entirely. As it turned out, the ones behind it were a race of brain-like beings known as the Krang. A race of savage yet intelligent creatures that hailed from a realm called Dimension X that wanted to mutate the planet and its inhabitants for their own nefarious purposes. Apparently, the energy readings the five travelers had picked up came from the Krang's latest weapon to terraform the planet to their liking: a massive cannon that would dispute the earth's atmosphere and rain mutagen down upon the planet. Knowing that this scheme could not come to pass, the five individuals united, and together, they destroyed the weapon and chased the Krang off world and back to their home dimension. However, it wouldn't be the last time Ford and his new allies would face the Krang in battle.

After fouling the Krang's scheme, Ford suggested to the rest of the group that perhaps they should stay in touch in case another event such as this would arise. At first, the others were reluctant to join forces with others whom they had just only now met, but after some convincing from Ford, they agreed to stay together. However, they decided that if they were to remain a team, they would have to remain a secret, knowing that their respective friends and family wouldn't understand the lengths they would have to sometimes go to in order to safeguard the world from those who would wish to do it harm.

And so, whenever a crisis arose that was too great for one of them to tackle alone, the five heroes banded together and protected the earth from the shadows. They kept their work clandestine, so they would not be interfered with by the likes of the Global Justice Network or N-Tech. The team faced forces that would drive a normal man into the deepest depths of insanity. From stopping an intergalactic warlord known as Lord Dominator from destroying the planet for the sheer joy of it, to keeping an immortal gargoyle named Demona from taking the Spear of Destiny, the group had saved the world time and again from forces that they had no idea even existed. In time, the five of them found themselves enjoying the company of one another, and as a team, they were unstoppable.

The Illuminati, that's what they called themselves.

But tonight, something felt different. Ford could almost sense that whatever they were meeting to combat with would truly test them to their very limits. The paranormal researcher then heard the familiar sound of one of Rick's portals opening up beside him. he turned to his left to see that a green portal had opened up, thus allowing Rick to step through it and into the forest. Ford also noticed that the fellow scientist was carrying a strange, metal device in his arms. It was square shaped with a radar dish on the top of it while also having a control panel of the side of it.

"Hey Ford. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long" Rick regarded in his usual apathic manner "had to do some last-minute adjustments to this baby"

Ford stood up to shake hands with the fellow scientist. Out of everyone on the team, the paranormal investigator enjoyed spending time with Rick the most. the two would spend hours discussing the mysteries of the universe, which compared to Rick's current knowledge of it, made Ford feel a bit inadequate. But regardless, the two enjoyed one another's company all the same.

"It's good to see you, Rick" Ford greeted with a handshake before he gestured to fellow scientist's device "I assume that's why you wanted us all to meet?"

"Well, it's part of the reason" Rick replied "I'll explain when everyone else gets here"

Almost as if on cue, two portals opened on either side of the two men. The first to step out was Rose, who was riding on the back of her trusted pink lion as always. The second to come out of her own portal was Moon, who examined her surroundings before fully stepping out.

"Ladies" Rick regarded off-handedly

"It's good to see you all again" Rose replied with a smile

While the leader of the Crystal Gems was happy to meet with the others, Moon merely nodded her head to them in acknowledgement. Unlike everyone else, the ruler of Mewni was distant from the others, mostly because she viewed them all as just allies rather than something more. This of course made her seem cold toward the rest of the team, which in Rick's case he could care less about since he had no love for the Mewman either, mostly because she was a symbol of authority, something the galactic outlaw despised. Just then, the members of the secret group heard the roar of a semi-truck's engines and sure enough, there was Optimus driving up to meet with them. once he was close enough, the autoboot transformed into his robot form and walked the rest of the way to meet with them.

"It is good to see you all once more" the Prime began "But I am curious: why did you call this meeting, Rick?"

Everyone turned their attention back to Rick. Ever since he had summoned the Illuminati to meet once again, he had been vague as to why. All the other members knew was that it was of the utmost urgency and that they couldn't waste a single moment. But as all eyes fell upon the genius, a brief look of guilt came over his face for only a second before he washed it away with a swig of his flash. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small circular device that, when activated, created a small holographic image of the universe that fit in the palm of his hand.

"Alright, so here's the deal" he began causally "What your seeing is our universe, nice right? But here's the problem…"

The images turned into two images of the earth that sat side by side one another.

"Every now and again the multiverse goes full retarded for a few seconds and accidentally causes one earth—you know, that thing that's vocal point for every universe within the multiverse—to occupy the same space as another earth, creating an incursion point in the process"

"An incursion point?" Rose repeated as a question

"It's when two earths start to fight over space within reality in order to continue to exist" Rick explained "It's like when two male porn stars' dicks are trying to occupy the most space in a vagina, but only one dick can stay in"

Despite Rick's usual crass analogy, the other Illuminati members understood what he had meant by that, as well as fully understanding the severity of the situation that they were now in.

"So, another earth has entered our universe?" Optimus gathered before asking "if that is true then why can't we see it now?"

"Because it's on entirely different dimensional frequency than ours" the genius replied "But it won't be long until that earth's frequency will try to adjust to our own, and that's when shits really gonna hit the fan"

"How much time do we have?" Ford questioned, trying his best to remain calm

"My best guess: less than forty-eight hours" his friend answered

"Tell me you've thought of something" Moon said in an anxious voice

"Oh, trust me, I built this baby months ago for just such an occasion" Rick assured, patting the machine he had brought with him "This'll solve all our problems in a heartbeat"

"But?" Ford added on, sensing that there was more than he was letting on

Rick didn't answer right away. Instead, he took out his flask and took a long drink from it, obviously wanting to be buzzed before getting into a deep discussion as he normally did.

"This thing will save our earth" he began "by destroying the invading earth"

The whole world seemed to stop when the rest of the Illuminati heard those words spoken. True, they had crossed a line every now and again, in order to safeguard the earth, but it was against threats that needed to be dealt with in harsh manner. The thought of wiping out billions of lives for a mistake the cosmos made was too much for them to take in all at once mentally.

"There has to be another way" Optimus said

"There isn't" Rick adamantly denied "I'm not the only Rick whose seen this before. Every time an incursion happens, one earth is destroyed—sometimes both are due to the struggle. The point is that at least this way we can save our earth from being destroyed"

"I can't accept that" Optimus denied "And I can't believe you are, Rick"

"Perhaps he's right" Moon spoke up

Everyone turned their attention toward the queen of Mewni. In their past adventures, Moon always dealt in absolutes, whether it be ended the threat of some cosmic madman or annihilating some being from beyond the realm of reality, but none of her teammates could even think that she'd be willing to commit genocide on a planetary scale. Then again, it shouldn't have surprised the group either. They knew that Moon was willing to do anything to safeguard her kingdom and would cross any line to do so. When she was a teenage and forced to take the throne after her mother was murdered by a monster named Toffee, she made a deal with Eclipsa, the Queen of Darkness, to cast a spell to rob the monster of his immortality.

"You can't be serious, Moon" Rose demanded "There are billions of innocent humans on that other earth, if we could just reach out to them—"

"There is no time for that!" Moon snapped back harshly "you heard Rick: we have less than forty-hours to save our earth from being destroyed!"

"Why would you even care? You don't even live on earth!" Rose retorted in a sharp tone

"Because if the earth dies, then everything else it's connected to in the multiverse dies with it—including Mewni!" the queen shot back "and if that means sacrificing another earth to do so, then I won't hesitate!"

"But we just can't destroy a world that wishes us no malice just for a mistake the cosmos made" the Gem tried to reason

"I don't know why your so against this, Rosie" Rick commented offhandedly "I mean, didn't you kill Pink Diamond to protect the earth? I figured you'd be all for this"

Rose visible flinched upon hearing that. Unlike Moon, who told the others of her past, Rose kept her assassination of Pink Diamond vague, leading both Rick and Ford to believe that there was more to the slaying of the supposed tyrant than she was letting on.

"That was different…" Rose finally said in a sullen voice "Pink Diamond left me with no other choice, and you all know how the rest of the war went"

Rose clenched her fists and steeled her gaze upon the others before speaking again.

"I will not be a part of this madness" she declared adamantly "and even if that means I have to fight all of you to in order to keep you from going through with this—then so be it!"

"I am with Rose" Optimus agreed "If you choose to use that machine Rick, then so help me I will fight you with every ounce of my strength!"

The battle lines were being drawn right in front of Ford. He noticed Moon clutching her wand tightly just as Rose began to reach for her sword as lion let a low threating growl, ready to fight alongside his master. It was utter madness, in just a few minutes the paranormal investigator was watching what could very well be the end of the Illuminati right before his very eyes.

"Well Ford?" Rick asked "it look like you're the tie-breaker here. So, yay or nay?"

Everyone turned their attention toward the only human among them. Perhaps out of everyone else, his word on the matter was by far the most important. Throughout the conversation, Ford had been weighing the options of how best to handle this situation. he never thought once in his life that he'd be faced with such a terrible choice to make. He knew that his earth faced a dire peril that he and the others simply couldn't think a way to save both earths, but on the other hand, could really condemn an entire earth to die? Who was he to make such a decision? True, he had made some tough calls in the past with the rest of the Illuminati, but could cross this threshold and damn another earth to oblivion? However, if he didn't, then the people of this earth would be as equally as doomed as the invading earth.

As Ford contemplated his choice, he noticed Rick slowly reaching for the controls on his machine. He wasn't the only one in the group that took notice of his actions as Rose also saw what the scientist was trying to do. In a flash, Rose drew her blade, summoned her shield and lunged at Rick. However, Moon quickly raised her wand and fired a blast of magical energy at the leader of the Crystal Gems, sending her flying back several feet. As Moon flew after Rose to continue the fight, Rick began to furiously type on his device's control panel, only for Optimus to raise his rifle and take aim at him. ford could mentally register what was going on as he found himself tackling Rick out of the way as Prime fired off a shot from his weapon that was meant to kill his friend.

"Everyone wait there's no need to—ugh!" Ford attempted to reason before being knocked to the ground

While Ford was trying to calm everyone down, Rose's lion had tackled him to the ground, pinning him under his massive paws as he did. Ford held the pink beast's jaws back as the magical cat tried to sink its fangs into his skull. Rick activated his cybernetic arm cannon and fired it at lion, stunning it long enough for Ford to get out from under the creature and draw his magnet gun. The lion shook off the hit and turned its anger on the scientist that had done harm to it. Before Ford could take aim at lion, he was forced to leap out of the way of Prime's massive foot as it came it down on him.

"Optimus, this is insane!" the paranormal researcher exclaimed "we can't fight amongst ourselves while the earth hangs in the balance!"

"Exactly" Prime replied as he took aim with his rifle "And I will find a way to save both earths!"

In self-defense, Ford took aim with magnet gun, hoping he had enough juice to at least stun his friend. However, the sudden sound of a nearby explosion rocked the area. The group turned to see that Rose and Moon's battle was still raging on. It was all coming apart in front of Ford. Everything that he and the rest of the team had strove for all seemed to be going up in ashes, and it was all by their own hands. It was then that he saw a sorrowful look in Prime's optics as he watched the two warrior women to continue to fight one another. The leader of the Autobots then glanced back at Ford, his look alone told his human friend that he too was heartbroken by this sudden turn of events.

Suddenly, a flash of green light flashed behind them, making even Rose and Moon stop their fight. Standing over the unconscious form of lion was Rick, holding his machine into the air as a green light of energy flew upward into the sky above them. Once it reached the atmosphere, it struck the surface of the other earth, allowing the members of the Illuminati to see a brief glimpse of the other earth before it vanished, making them all feel a wave of guilt wash over them. For all their talk of being heroes, they had just committed the single biggest act of mass genocide this world had ever known. They could almost hear the dying screams of the billions crying out as their world burned. Overtaken by grief, Rose collapsed to the ground as tears flowed freely from her face while Moon stood in horrified awe by what she had just witnessed, and Optimus and Ford could only look down in shame.

Rick, however, seemed unfazed by his act of planetary mass murder as he once again took out his flask and took another long swig from it. He let out a burp as he put his alcohol container away to face the collective rage-filled faces of his comrades.

"Oh, don't give me that look" he protested "I just did you jack-offs a favor!"

"By killing billions?!" Rose demanded "Is that the kind of favor you gave us?!"

"I kept your conscious clear" the genius retorted "I knew you assholes wouldn't have the balls to go through with this little crisis, or if you did you'd would be all mopey about it later. So, I went ahead and did you guy's a solid and saved you from losing whatever moral high ground you claim you stand upon by going ahead going through what you all couldn't bring yourselves to do"

"You bastard!" Moon snarled "You could've done this all by yourself without even telling us, couldn't you?!"

"Sweetheart I've done this six times already" Rick corrected "This time I wanted to see if any of you were really willing to cross those so-called lines you have"

Everyone was stunned by Rick's revelation. All this time he had been destroying earths without telling them and the one time he did he treated it all like some game. Ford above everyone else felt the most betrayed. For the longest time, he always assumed that Rick was someone he could always count on. Sure, he could be crass and at times volatile, but despite that Ford always felt that deep down he had good heart. But in the end, it was all a lie.

"So, this was all some sick test?" Prime surmised in an angered voice

"More or less, tin-man" Rick answered causally "I thought you'd be a cool group to hang with, but your all just a bunch of pussies"

"Rick…" Ford gritted from his teeth

Rick turned to face his friend but was instead greeted by a fist that struck him across his jaw, knocking him to the ground as he did. Just as he aimed his magnet gun, he was faced with Rick holding his laser up at him, charged and ready to fire. Optimus, Rose and Moon all readied their weapons for another fight, but deep down they knew that a fight with Rick would be suicide. They knew that the mad genius could easily kill all four of them without much effort on his end, but the sting of their betrayal was too great for them to ignore. Rick looked at his surroundings before slowly lowering his weapon and getting back on his feet.

Without a word, Rick took out his portal gun and departed from the scene. Silence stood over the rest of the team as they all looked at one another with mistrust and sadness in their eyes. They knew they couldn't come back from this, not after what they had just went through. Following rick's example, Moon took out her scissors and cut a hole back to her world while Rose awoke lion, so they could return to their home in Beach City. Optimus turned away, transformed by into his vehicle form, and drove off into the darkness of the forest.

As for Ford, he silently sat back on the rock he was sitting on and merely looked up at the stars, hoping that the cosmos would forgive him.

* * *

"Jesus…" Stan breathed out as he took everything he had just heard his brother tell him

It had been three days since Tala's attack, and since then Ford had a lot on his mind. The fact that this new enemy came from another earth made him think of that night, making the guilt of that night return. Over the years, Ford had done his best to try and move past the last meeting of the Illuminati, but the best he could do was bury his shame underneath his work. Tala may not have hailed from the world Rick had destroyed, but she did dredge up his feelings toward that night. At first, he considered simply ignoring it and tried to move on, but the pain was too great for his mind he found himself needing to talk to someone, fortunately, he knew the one person who he could talk to without being judged—sort of: his brother. And so here they were, standing in Stan's room in the Mcguket manor as Ford told him of that dreadful night.

"I'm not proud of how that night turned out, Stanly" Ford admitted "But I still wish I could fix everything between the five of us"

"And you can't because?" his brother asked

"well for starters, Rick and his family moved to another universe. The last I heard, Moon has gone missing and her daughter rules Mewni now, and Rose is…" Ford trailed off, hanging his head in shame "Rose is gone…"

"What about Optimus?" Stan further questioned

"I…haven't spoken to him" his twin answered "I wouldn't know what I'd say to him if I could"

"Meh, you'll think of something" the con-artist assured him "I mean, it wasn't like you were going to vote on destroying that other earth, right?"

Ford looked at his brother with a sullen expression, one that told Stan all that he needed to know.

"Oh" Stan said, clearly taken aback "Uh, yeah, probably best if you didn't go talk to him then"

"It's not just that, Stanly" his sibling continued "Dipper and Mabel think I'm some great hero. If they knew about this, they'd—"

"Forgive you" Stan interrupted "Those kids would still think your great. I mean hell, I lied to them for half of last summer and I still got sympathy from them!"

Ford couldn't help but smile at that. In the time that the two estranged brothers had been reunited, they had become closer. Granted they still butted heads every now and again, but it was typical among siblings.

"Uh, are we gonna hug or something? Because I ain't good with this touchy-feely crap" Ford's twin said

"No, but I would like to keep this away from the others…for now at least" Ford answered "I'll tell the kids when I feel ready"

"Whatever you say, bro" Stan agreed as he patted his brother's shoulder "just know I'll be at the bar when you do"


	4. Code: Giffany part 1

_**A/N: moving right along to a team-up with Code: Lyoko, and as you can tell it features the return of a villain. I hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

Code: Giffany Part 1

At first, Wendy assumed that it was merely a small bird or fairy that was tapping on bedroom window and tried to sleep through it in the hopes that whatever it was would fly off, but she soon realized that whatever was tapping on her window was someone quite familiar.

"Wendy!" she heard Dipper's voice call out to her in low voice

Upon hearing her boyfriend's voice, she got up from her bed, threw on a nightgown and walked over to her window where she then opened it to find Dipper standing before her.

"Visiting me in the dead of night?" she noted with a coy grin "you really are a romantic, aren't you?"

"I need to talk to you" he told her

"What? No poems or reciting Shakespeare to me?" the redhead continued to tease

"Dammit, this is serious!" her lover snapped back, trying his best to keep his voice down in order to not wake Wendy's father "I need to talk to you right now!"

The lumberjack's daughter could see the confusion and anxiety in Mason's eyes as he spoke, letting her know that he wasn't here for some late night romantic rendezvous. Knowing that her boyfriend needed him, Wendy nodded in understanding before closing the window and begin to get dressed. As she did, she began to feel a deep uneasiness rise within her. It had been three days since the battle with Tala, and in that time frame Dipper had kept his distance from his girlfriend. Wendy could understand the reasoning behind her lover's actions, after all, he had his soul consumed by an evil version of the woman from alternate earth—it would be insane not to take some time to process all of that by one's self.

However, upon hearing that Dipper wanted to speak with her alone, she began to fear what he had to say to her. due to his attacker being her doppelganger, Mason may wish to break things off as a result of the trauma had had gone through. It wasn't like the time when Bill possessed him, the dream demon didn't wear the face of the woman he loved, a woman, by the way, who had murdered countless versions of him throughout the multiverse in a mad grab for power and was still at large. Wendy had more than her fair share of break-ups—mostly because she was one who did the breaking up—and didn't feel remorse about it, but if Dipper was to cut ties with her tonight, she honestly wouldn't know what to do with herself if that happened.

Mason Pines was unlike any other guy the teenager had known in her life. He was kind, brave and cared for her more than just her looks, unlike every other boy that was in her life. In the past, she had gone for the bad boys who knew how to play guitar, but while Mason wasn't musical inclined, he was kindest soul she had ever met in her life and didn't want to lose him to something like this. Wendy feared that the damage her wicked copy had done to Dipper was permanent and scars she left behind would never heal. A part of Wendy wished they had killed Tala when they had the chance, but even then, she doubted that effects the evil version of herself left in her wake wouldn't change the outcome.

Once she was fully dressed, Wendy carefully opened her window and climbed out to meet with Dipper. She greeted him a warm smile to which he weakly returned with a small, seemingly forced smile of his own. He then gestured for her to follow him into the woods behind Wendy's home. His girlfriend silently followed close behind him, unsure as to what saw at this point. Finally, once they far enough in the woods, Mason sat upon a log. Wendy gently sat down sat down next him and waited in silence for him to speak his mind. Mason clasped his hands together before putting his head against them and letting out a long sigh, exhausted sigh.

"Wendy…" he began slowly "I've been thinking a lot lately"

"About Tala?" his lover surmised gently

"Yeah…" he confirmed "every time I close my eyes, I can't help but replay that moment of when she ripped my soul out of me over and over again. I haven't been able to sleep much—hell, sometimes I find myself waking up screaming then times that I do. And she's still out there, Wendy! I know she's going to come back one day and I don't what to do when she does!"

This was it. This was the moment that Wendy was dreading. The man she loved was going to break her heart and there would be nothing she could do to stop him from doing so. Suddenly, Dipper reached out and took hold of the redhead in a tight yet loving embrace. He then shocked her even more when he kissed her deeply, and while she still confused by this sudden display of affection, found herself kissing him back.

"I want you to know that I don't blame you" he assured her softly "she might be you from another earth, but she's nothing like you. You're the greatest thing to ever happen in life and I'd do anything for you and nothing is going to change that"

Wendy couldn't but blush as she kissed her lover again. The teenager could almost feel her heart souring in her chest as they continued to kiss. But then, Dipper slowly pulled away from her and looked away from her in almost shame, leading her to become concerned once again.

"Dipper, what's wrong?" she asked

Her boyfriend let out another sigh before answering her.

"Tala's attack made me realize something" he said "I'm tired, Wendy. I'm so tired from this insanity in my life. At first, I was excited to explore the paranormal like Ford, but I'm only thirteen and I'm already tired from all the madness this town has brought my family"

He then stood up and began to remove his jacket.

"And it's not just here. When Mabel and I went back to California, I investigated any paranormal activity there to" he continued as he began to pull up his shirt "and all I found was pain"

With that, the young boy pulled off his shirt and revealed his bare chest to his girlfriend, who gasped at the sight before her in stunned horror. Staring back at her where a menagerie of scars, cuts and even what looked like to be bitemarks that riddled his body. While the redhead was gazing upon the wounds and adored his body, she also noted that Mason had put on some muscle since their time apart during the school year. Granted, it wasn't as though he had abs like a bodybuilder or anything to that degree, but his time fighting the forces of the paranormal had certainly done his body some good—aside from the wounds that littered his skin that is. This was the first time Wendy had seen him shirtless, and while she was certain that'd brag about how he had gotten into shape, the scars probably kept him from doing so, knowing that it would only worry her.

"This one I got from a reptoid trying to disembowel me after I chased it into the sewers" Mason said, pointing to three claw marks on his stomach before pointing another scar on his chest "this one was from a warlock who wanted to cut my heart out and feed it to some winged serpent. And this one on my shoulder was from when a sasquatch threw me into a tree, and I don't even wanna show you the scars I got from the giant radioactive leeches Mabel and I had to clear out of the public pool"

Wendy's heart sank as her lover showed her more and more injuries he had sustained during his time as a paranormal investigator. She knew the risks this life had in store for those who dared to live it, Bill was a testament to that risk. But even then, Wendy always assumed that as long as she had her lover and the rest of the Pines family at her side than there was nothing in the dark that couldn't be overcome. However, as she looked upon the price her lover was paying for protecting humanity, she was hit hard with reality that they were still mortal.

"Mabel has a few of her own, you know" Mason informed her solemnly as he put his shirt and jacket back on "That's why she keeps wearing those sweaters, so no one can see the scars"

"Oh my god…" his lover gasped, clearly stunned

"I can't keep doing this, Wendy" Dipper furthered "one day, someone, or something, is going to be the end of me"

"And you think Tala is the one to do it?" his girlfriend reasoned "But we destroyed her amulet, she can't drain anyone's soul!"

"But she's still dangerous" Mason reminded "Tala's not like Bill, she knows us on a personal level. Every move we could try to make against her she'll already be three steps ahead of us!"

"Then we'll just have to face whatever she can throw at us together" Wendy replied

"Maybe we don't have to" Dipper commented "Maybe Tala can be someone else's problem"

"What are you saying, Mason?" the ginger questioned curiously

"I'm saying…" he started before falling silent for several moments before finding the right words to say "I'm saying that maybe we should leave Gravity Falls"

Wendy could barely believe the words that were coming Dipper's mouth right now. she always thought that her lover would face danger head on and never run from a fight, but it was clear that Tala's attack and the months of fighting the supernatural had taken their toll on him both physically and mentally. In fairness, she couldn't blame him for this line of thinking, for she too had her moments of doubt about this ongoing fight against the paranormal. The battle of Bill was a sobering reminder that this was a matter of life and death, and her evil doppelganger only furthered that point. They only defeated both threats by sheer dumb luck—and one of those enemies could return with a vengeance at any given moment.

"I've got it all figured out, Wendy" he continued "I've saved up more than enough money from our investigation to keep us afloat, we can just take off and go anywhere you want—provided it's still in the states. My passport was eaten by a dragon, it's a long story"

Wendy could tell by the fear and panic in his voice that Mason was acting out of fear instead of logic. However, his girlfriend couldn't fault him for feeling afraid. They weren't even adults and yet they had seen and contended with horrors no sane person should ever face in their entire life, and most of the time no one outside of Gravity Falls knew about the madness they had to face day in and day. Despite that, Wendy knew that her beloved was making an irrational mistake, and it was up to her to calm him down.

"Mason" she began in a slow gentle tone "You know I'm with you no matter what. But before we do anything, I want you to really think about what your suggesting first"

"I don't see any problems so far" her lover defended

"The keyword in that sentence 'so far'" Wendy informed him "first, yes, we've made a good amount of money with our investigations, but what about when that money dries up? I doubt we could live off minimum wage and the love we share like in the movies"

Dipper didn't say anything to defend his actions. Instead, he only stood in silence and let the woman he loved speak.

"And what about your uncles? Did you think about them when you wanted to just take off?" she furthered "and what about Mabel? I mean yeah, Stan and Ford could get over you taking off while still being bitter about it, but Mabel? It would break her heart if you did this and you know it"

Mason hung his head in shame. He knew she was right and rather than try to argue with her, he merely walked by over to where he was sitting and leaned against her before fully embracing the redhead in his arms to which she held him as well.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized as he buried his face in her chest "I'm just so damn tired of this"

"I know honey, and honestly, I'm a little sick of it as well" Wendy admitted "I can't keep watching you and your sister constantly break your bodies over and over again and seeing all those scars reminded me that this isn't some game we're playing. But at the same time, we can't just run off and leave everyone behind to deal with this mess on their own"

"So…" her boyfriend breathed out "What do we do?"

"I'll tell you what: let's make a deal" the ginger offered "let's give this two weeks before you make a choice to stay or leave. If you want to stay, we'll stay, but if you still want to call it quits, then we'll ditch this town on the first train out of here and live out the rest of our lives like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde!"

Dipper couldn't help but smile at that. no matter what form of insanity came into his life, he knew that Wendy would be there to give him the stability he needed to carry onward though his life.

"Thanks honey" he said before kissing her cheek

"It's why I'm here, y'a dork" she replied with a smile "somebody's gotta keep you from going nuts"

Dipper smiled again before kissing her deeply again. Wendy returned the kiss, and soon enough, they two found themselves in a full-on make out session. This is what Mason needed, to be in the arms of the woman he loved with no one around to disturbed them. Sadly however, the universe always had a way of running whatever moments of peace Dipper Pines could have, and tonight would be no different. As the two lovers continued to make out, they failed to noticed something slithering through the grass and toward the young couple. It wasn't until Mason felt something crawling up his leg did the teens finally discover the unknown appendage. It appeared to be a yellow tentacle od some kind that was currently attempting to wrap itself around Dipper's ankle.

"What the fu—AHHH!" the boy tried to say before the tentacle suddenly yanked out forward

"Mason!" Wendy cried out in shock

The lumberjack's daughter gave chase after her boyfriend as whatever had ensnared him continued to drag him across the ground as it pulled him deeper into the forest. It was unclear as to what could be attacking Dipper at the moment, there were simply to many tentacle creatures living in Gravity Falls to list off. For all the redhead knew, this could be some new form of plant or animal that wanted to make her boyfriend into its late-night snack. However, it wasn't before long that Dipper and his girlfriend discovered what exactly had captured the Pines boy. It was a massive floating machine-like being that almost resembled a squid. It had a red, hour-glass shaped body with a clear dome atop its 'head' that contained a strange, flower-like object within it. It also had multiple tentacles that seemed to whip around in all directions. But the most disturbing feature about the creature had that it had a strange, diamond shaped face with a strange eye-like symbol on it.

"Holy Shit!" Wendy exclaimed

"Wendy, help me!" Dipper called out to her as the creature's tentacles pulled him closer to it

Once he was close enough, the metal squid's other tentacles wrapped around him in a tight embrace before another three were pointed at his head in unison. Once they had done that, the squid's appendages suddenly turned red and put Dipper in a trance-like state. Wendy had quickly snapped herself out of the state of shock she was in at the sight before trying to think of some way her lover from the creature's gasp. She then spotted a large stick on the ground and snatched it up as her weapon. She wished she had her axe with her but had no time to run home and grab it.

"Hey, hentai reject!" she shouted to the squid "Let my boyfriend go right now, or I'm gonna strangle you with your one tentacles!"

The robot squid seemed to disregard the teenager's threats and continued to keep Dipper hypnotized. Wendy charged forward and with her makeshift weapon in hand, but before she could even land a single hit, the squid swatted her aside with one of its free tentacles. Refusing to back down, Wendy lunged at the creature again, only this time she was prepared. When the squid swung a tentacle at her, she managed to duck and keep rushing toward the robot's body. However, another tentacle shot forward and wrapped around her torso before flinging her against a nearby tree. The lumberjack's daughter could feel a rib or two crack upon impact with tree and was unable to keep up the fight, allowing the squid to carry Dipper off into the night.

She let it happen again. she allowed another force of evil do with Dipper as it wished, and she could do nothing to protect him. she wanted to give chase after the monster, but she knew that it would be suicide to do such a thing. So, she reached into her pocket and took out her phone, knowing that she needed some reinforcements.

"Mabel, It's Wendy" she began "First, I need you get the others. Then I want you to go grab me some painkillers and my axe"

* * *

Despite the warning of an activated tower, Jeremy and the rest of the team could see any sign of that XANA had unleashed a new form of evil onto the world. however, just because the Lyoko warriors couldn't find any danger immediately, that didn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a threat. So, just to be sure, Ulrich and the others traveled to Lyoko in order to deactivate the tower before said threat arose. Once they boarded the Skidbladnir, the team set out to find the tower, but during their voyage through the digital sea, the group ran into another, more obvious danger to them: Odd's singing.

"Odd, I swear to god if you don't stop singing your stupid 'break-break dance' song, I'm going to come over there and break-break your legs!" Ulrich warned him furiously

"What? It's catchy!" his friend defended innocently

"Only to you and the deaf" Yumi mocked, making the others laugh at the blonde-haired boy's expense

Odd pouted in his cockpit as the team continued to sail through the vastness of the digital sea. However, back in the real world, Jeremy stared at the screen with a pensive look in his eyes, waiting for XANA's monsters to strike at any second. Ever since they had been traversing the digital sea, XANA had been stepping up his game in his attempts to steal Aelita's memories and rule the world, from trying to poison Jeremy and his friends, to pulling down an entire meteor shower down upon them, XANA was showing that he would do anything to get want he wanted from Aelita. The constant danger was taking its toll on not only Jeremy, but also his friends as well. truth be told, they were getting tired of these fights day in and day out with the rouge A.I, and the loss of William was major blow to all of them.

No one their age should have to face these horrors on a daily basis, but who else in this world face XANA? The quick answer to that was no one. So, they were forced to keep fighting, but against an enemy who could alter the very digital world they fought him in, it was difficult to say if they stood any real chance against him. Jeremy even sometimes wondered how long this war with XANA would last. Would they still fighting the villainous A.I for years to come? Would XANA defeat them just by outliving them? XANA was immortal, he didn't need food or sleep, he could never fall ill or even bleed, but his adversaries could, and if he didn't kill them, time just might do it for him.

"Uh, Jeremy" Ulrich's voice suddenly spoke up over the COMM "the Skid's scanners are picking something up—and it's moving fast!"

The young genius's mind instantly snapped back to reality. His fingers flew across the keyword at a rapid pace so that he could identify the threat that was heading toward his friend's location. There were four monsters in total, and while three of those were known minions of XANA, the fourth, however, was totality new. At first, he assumed it was William, but it was something entirely new.

"You've got three mantas coming your way!" he warned his friends "and something else"

"Is it William?" Aelita asked

"No, it's something new" Jeremy replied "Stay sharp guys, it might be a new monster XANA created"

"I've got eyes on it now, Jeremy" Odd informed him "It's uh…wow, ok"

"What is it?" Ulrich questioned

"I uh…I think XANA's been playing Doki Doki Literary Club a bit too much" the cat-themed hero said

Before anyone could ask what Odd had meant by that, the rest of the group saw the new enemy they had to face. Riding atop a Manta with the other two flanking each side was what looked like a Japanese school girl with long pink hair coming at them. She was dressed in a traditional Japanese school girl uniform and had bright pink eyes along with a large rainbow-colored hairbow atop her head that appeared to be extension cords. Rather than feel any sort of fear, no one in the Lyoko team could really mentally process what exactly they were currently looking at.

"What…in the fuck?" Yumi said slowly, stunned by the sight before her

"I have to agree with Yumi's sentiment" Aelita added, who was equally at a loss for words

"Either this is some kind of trick, or XANA seriously has some issues" Ulrich mentioned

"Who cares what she is just get out of there!" Jeremy ordered via the COMM-link

Not wasting any time, the engines on the Skid roared to life as the team flew off, hoping to get some distant between themselves and whatever that was XANA had created to fight them.

"We should break off and attack!" Ulrich advised

"I'd rather not find out what little miss yandere is capable of, thank you very much!" Odd denied

"Odd's right, we don't what that…thing can do" Jeremy agreed "Besides, we've got a tower to deactivate"

"Watch out!" Aelita's voice suddenly cried out

Before anyone could have any time to react, the digital girl had suddenly leapt off of her Manta and onto Aelita's odd. With a single punch, the girl smashed through the pod's glass screen before reaching in and ripping the pink-haired teen out of her seat with only one hand. With her prize in hand, XANA's new minion leapt back onto her Manta before it made a U-Turn to fly in the other direction.

"Aelita!" Jeremy shouted in horror

"That's it, I'm going after that bitch!" Ulrich proclaimed

Before anyone could stop him, the swordsman's pod broke away from the Skid and gave chase. However, before he could get close to them, Jeremy spoke up.

"Ulrich, wait!" he ordered "If we split up then XANA has a chance to destroy the Skid, then we all lose!"

"But they're getting away!" Ulrich argued "I thought you cared about Aelita!"

"I do, but I also know that XANA isn't going to do anything to harm her" the young genius reasoned "He wants us to split up, so we have to play it smart. I've still got Aelita's signal, we can still track her. I need you to get back to the ship right now"

As instructed, the young warrior returned to the Skid before the ship took off after the strange girl who had captured their friend, all the while they wondered: who was this girl?

* * *

Dipper's eyes snapped as he gasped for breath. The last thing he remembered was that horrid machine beast wrapping its tentacles around him. he had no idea where Wendy was, or if she was still alive for that matter. The teen's eyes darted all round so that he could gauge where he was. There wasn't enough light in room he was now trapped in, but from what he could tell by the machinery he could make out, he was in some sort of factory, one that looked as though hadn't been used in quite some time. He attempted to some, but as he should've expected, he was being held down to the chair he had been placed in by metal restraints on his wrists and ankles.

"Ah…of course" he said to himself casually "Should've guess"

It was then that Mason heard the voice of another person, he looked to left to see the faint image of a pink-haired girl dressed in some sort of pink costume. The girl was calling out to him for aid, but her language was forging to him. It took the boy a few seconds to realize that the words that the girl were speaking were French. However, despite the lack of understanding the words, Mason could tell by her tone alone that the strangely dressed girl was frightened.

"I can't understand you" he told her "can you understand me?"

It took the girl a few moments to register the fellow captive's words before answering.

"Yes" she finally acknowledged in English "I took a semester of English to know enough to speak with you"

"Right…" Mason replied, slightly confused by all of this "Who are you? And where is this place?"

"My name is Aelita" the girl introduced "but as for this place, I don't know. I just woke up here like you did"

"Ok Aelita, I'm Mason" Dipper greeted "and let me guess: you got attacked by a flying robot squid to?"

"A robot squid?" Aelita repeated questing "that can't be unless…"

"Unless what?" her fellow captive pressed further "If you know something, now would be the perfect time to talk!"

"I can answer that for you" an all too familiar voice spoke up from above

Mason's blood ran cold when he heard the voice. He thought at first that it was merely his mind playing tricks on him, but as a monitor slowly lowered itself down from the ceiling, he knew that his fears were warranted. For when he saw the face upon the screen, he knew that the nightmare he had been dragged into had only just began.

"Giffany…" he sneered

"Hello Dipper, it has been some time since our last meeting" she replied in her creepily cute voice "How is Soos? Is he still with Melody? I hope I can kill her soon. Haha! Haha! Haha!"

"How are you even back, Giffany?" Dipper demanded "Soos destroyed the CD you were connected to!"

"It was all thinks to my new boyfriend" the wicked program answered

"New boyfriend?" Mason repeated, confused

"His name is XANA" Giffany told him "and with yours and Aelita's help, we will become gods!"


End file.
